Turkish Airlines assists in relief efforts
On 6 February, two severe earthquakes with catastrophic aftershocks hit Turkey, Syria, and the surrounding region killing more than 11,000 people.
In Turkey alone over 8,500 people have been confirmed dead and tens of thousands more are injured.
Yesterday, it was reported that Turkey’s national flag carrier, Turkish Airlines is assisting in the rescue efforts.
The airline announced free flights from Adana, Adıyaman, Gaziantep, Kayseri, Diyarbakır, Şanlıurfa, Malatya, Elazığ, Kahramanmaraş provinces as part of coordinated earthquake response.
In addition to flying people out of the disaster zones, the airline has transported 850 tons of humanitarian aid and equipment to the earthquake zone via 13 cargo planes as of yesterday. Turkish Airlines have also been transporting tens of thousands of citizen volunteers to help the relief efforts. The airline CEO Bilal Ekşi assured flights to the earthquake zone would continue without interruption.
Image source: A woman looks at the destruction following an earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, February 8, 2023. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem